This is what Trump is afraid of…
By Ben Meiselas
It’s Ben Meiselas, the co-founder of MeidasTouch.
I need your help today.
We have to get this message out.
We can absolutely win the information war surrounding the government shutdown and save the healthcare of millions of Americans.
Let me tell you what we need to do, and let me tell you what Trump is afraid of.
I’ll go in reverse order.
This is what Trump is afraid of:
He doesn’t want to be the face of the government shutdown. This is why he’s been sending out Karoline Leavitt, JD Vance, and Mike Johnson to spread lies about the shutdown before the press. This is also why Trump did not want the press in the meeting earlier this week with Democratic leaders.
Trump doesn’t want the American people to see that the only thing Democrats are really asking for is extending tax credits on the Affordable Care Act to keep 20 million Americans from losing their healthcare. That’s it. Republicans want the premiums to expire.
Here’s what Democrats need to do—and not do.
Democrats are not going to win the war by doing dueling press conferences. Here’s how that will continue to go: Republicans are just going to tell ridiculous lies about transgender operations in Peru or whatever their conspiracy of the day is. Then, Democrats hold their own presser and swat down the lies of Republicans. Regardless, the press will ask Democrats to respond to all the ludicrous things Republicans are saying. It’s circular.
To me, this dueling press conference approach is just a waste of time.
What Democrats need to do is demand a meeting with Trump, JD Vance, and MAGA Mike that will be held in public before the press. This needs to happen immediately.
Democrats must insist the meeting take place before cameras so there is no ambiguity about what was said. Even if Trump doesn’t show, this plan will work—even if it’s just Vance and MAGA Mike. The meeting cannot take place unless it’s broadcast live.
Yesterday, JD Vance claimed he would show up on Capitol Hill if Democrats invited him. He said he’s always willing to talk. So my advice to Democrats is to call his bluff. Invite him to a meeting before the press. This should have been done yesterday, immediately after JD Vance said that at a press conference. This should happen no later than tomorrow.
Democrats need to control the location where the meeting is to take place. The room should have graphics that convey the importance of protecting healthcare. At the meeting, Democrats need to emphasize their request only involves protecting the healthcare of American citizens. Democrats should have a clear and easy-to-read document in big font ready to present to Republicans, making it clear how simple their requests are and how a deal could be reached right away now that any doubt has been removed about the disinformation being spread.
Democrats should forcefully push for a deal to protect the healthcare of American citizens in front of the press and put JD Vance and MAGA Mike on the spot. It should be done in a very public way that leaves no ambiguity.
Doing what I suggest above will break through the noise. It will change the dynamic of dueling press conferences and crystallize that Republicans are lying. It will show the Democrats are willing to be transparent in front of the press. If Donald decides not to show, I would assume MAGA Mike and JD Vance will only be weaker. This plan will break the stalemate and get the truth out effectively.
I need your help getting out the message of this plan. I want you to encourage a public meeting before the press between Democratic leaders and Republican leaders no later than Friday. This can’t linger. I will use the platform of the MeidasTouch Network to get this message out. I think this will be a game-changer.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the MeidasTouch Network needs your help right now. We are winning this information battle. I know you can feel it. And I know it’s a feeling we all haven’t really felt before since you are used to Fox and all of the corporate news nonsense controlling the narrative. That’s not the case right now.
With MeidasTouch Network as the most viewed news network in the world, the narrative is being controlled by the truth. We’ve got to keep it this way.
So please, if you can, subscribe now to the MeidasTouch Network Substack.
Your subscription to this Substack has been invaluable to the growth of the MeidasTouch Network, and we need your help now more than ever.
We are grateful for your subscription and your support.
Let’s keep fighting.
From Paul Krugman:
“Many innocent people — above all, federal employees — will be hurt by the government shutdown. But Democrats needed to take a stand, to show that they will try to hold Republicans accountable for their assault on the welfare of Americans, and Republican incompetence gave them good ground for doing so.
In a perverse way, we can be grateful that Trump and his minions are so incompetent, because that is forcing the dormant parts of our country to push back. Let’s just hope that the pushback is strong enough and fast enough to save us all.”
From The Peaceful Solution:
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, tell politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.
You nailed it. He’s all about appearances.